Rob Lantz Clinches PEI PC Crown—Pledges to Fix Power Crisis Head-On

Paul Riverbank, 2/8/2026Rob Lantz wins PEI PC leadership, vows unity and urgent action on the province’s power woes.

It was Rob Lantz who finally claimed the night. There's something in the way he moved to the podium—neither triumphant nor humbled, just a bit more relaxed than expected for a man winning by the slenderest of margins. Out of 5,437 party ballots, Lantz squeezed out 53 percent, leaving Mark Ledwell trailing with 46 percent; the difference, a touch over 350 votes, could’ve tipped on a handful of conversations or errands missed that day.

But the real headline? Turnout. Eighty-seven percent, according to party officials. “People don’t show up in these numbers unless something’s at stake,” muttered a veteran organizer near the back, leaning on a folding chair as if expecting to be told to pack up any second. And with 6,132 eligible voters, most did their part—a stat that, by any measure, speaks to a party that’s decided sleep is for the opposition.

Ledwell, a fixture in Island legal and business circles, seemed at ease in loss. He called himself “an outsider,” as if to brace the room for a harder landing, but pivoted almost instantly to unity. “We pull together now, that’s what matters,” he told reporters, his tie slightly loosened. “Whoever’s at the helm, my commitment’s the same.” There wasn’t much time for dwelling—change was Ledwell’s platform, and by the end of the night, even defeat seemed to fuel his optimism.

Much talk of “renewal” wafted around the room, but for Lantz, things came full circle. After all, he’d already warmed the seat as interim leader and acting premier when Dennis King stepped aside—not exactly a stranger to the province’s top job. He’d voluntarily stepped back in December, obeying party rules for neutrality, letting Bloyce Thompson mind the shop until the membership decided. Now, the paperwork’s waiting, and the staffers have already started scheduling meetings. One campaign volunteer joked, “We’ll barely need to change the nameplate.”

The curiosity now shifts from who leads to what comes next. Lantz, never one for grand gestures, made it clear there’s little appetite to send Islanders back to the polls. “We aren’t even three years into the mandate,” he noted, knocking back the idea of a snap election with a casual ease. There's a mandate, he said. Islanders voted for 20 PC MLAs and, as he reminded more than once, “some of those folks have barely hung their coats in the legislature.”

Lantz zeroed in on power — literally. Maritime Electric’s undersea cables and the ever-watchful eyes on monthly bills, both thorny issues. “Energy capacity is at the top of the list,” he told a cluster of waiting microphones. He pitched replacing those cables as a “nation-building project,” a phrase not heard much on P.E.I. since the Confederation Bridge debate. He also floated the idea of shifting how the province oversees its only regulated utility, nudging toward “performance-based” oversight. It’s the kind of policy wonk talk that makes the economics students’ ears perk up, but for most Islanders, it likely boils down to one thing: lower bills.

Anne Christopher, one of Lantz’s supporters, put it plainly. “He knows how to fix this Maritime Electric mess,” she said. “I think he’ll keep working with the MLAs. Folks forget how much better things are when the whole team pulls together.” Across the room, Ledwell backers like Mitchel Smelgrove were still dissecting what might’ve been. Smelgrove argued Ledwell’s experience connecting federal and provincial issues is something “the Island will need soon enough, you watch.”

Leadership contests can drag party fractures into the light, but Lantz spent a good part of his speech encouraging unity without sounding preachy. “Leadership races are oppositional, that’s just the nature,” he said, “but we don’t have to make them divisional.” Whether that sentiment holds come the first test in the legislature—well, that remains to be seen.

For now, though, Lantz’s task is clear and immediate. Spend some time with family, catch the Super Bowl, and then back to work Monday morning. After all, the business of governing—especially on an island as intimate and interconnected as P.E.I.—never really stops, just pauses for the odd celebration.

Big changes rarely arrive overnight in Prince Edward Island politics. But if the last few days are any indication, there may at least be a new pace. For the moment, that seems to be enough.

On a brisk evening in Charlottetown, the air inside the Delta convention hall was unusually thick — not with smoke or music, but with an electric sort of anticipation. The clock had hardly struck seven before the crowd, a mosaic of loyalists, newcomers, and more than a few curious onlookers, started murmuring over every glimpse of paper shuffling behind the counting tables.It was Rob Lantz who finally claimed the night. There's something in the way he moved to the podium—neither triumphant nor humbled, just a bit more relaxed than expected for a man winning by the slenderest of margins. Out of 5,437 party ballots, Lantz squeezed out 53 percent, leaving Mark Ledwell trailing with 46 percent; the difference, a touch over 350 votes, could’ve tipped on a handful of conversations or errands missed that day.But the real headline? Turnout. Eighty-seven percent, according to party officials. “People don’t show up in these numbers unless something’s at stake,” muttered a veteran organizer near the back, leaning on a folding chair as if expecting to be told to pack up any second. And with 6,132 eligible voters, most did their part—a stat that, by any measure, speaks to a party that’s decided sleep is for the opposition.Ledwell, a fixture in Island legal and business circles, seemed at ease in loss. He called himself “an outsider,” as if to brace the room for a harder landing, but pivoted almost instantly to unity. “We pull together now, that’s what matters,” he told reporters, his tie slightly loosened. “Whoever’s at the helm, my commitment’s the same.” There wasn’t much time for dwelling—change was Ledwell’s platform, and by the end of the night, even defeat seemed to fuel his optimism.Much talk of “renewal” wafted around the room, but for Lantz, things came full circle. After all, he’d already warmed the seat as interim leader and acting premier when Dennis King stepped aside—not exactly a stranger to the province’s top job. He’d voluntarily stepped back in December, obeying party rules for neutrality, letting Bloyce Thompson mind the shop until the membership decided. Now, the paperwork’s waiting, and the staffers have already started scheduling meetings. One campaign volunteer joked, “We’ll barely need to change the nameplate.”The curiosity now shifts from who leads to what comes next. Lantz, never one for grand gestures, made it clear there’s little appetite to send Islanders back to the polls. “We aren’t even three years into the mandate,” he noted, knocking back the idea of a snap election with a casual ease. There's a mandate, he said. Islanders voted for 20 PC MLAs and, as he reminded more than once, “some of those folks have barely hung their coats in the legislature.”Lantz zeroed in on power — literally. Maritime Electric’s undersea cables and the ever-watchful eyes on monthly bills, both thorny issues. “Energy capacity is at the top of the list,” he told a cluster of waiting microphones. He pitched replacing those cables as a “nation-building project,” a phrase not heard much on P.E.I. since the Confederation Bridge debate. He also floated the idea of shifting how the province oversees its only regulated utility, nudging toward “performance-based” oversight. It’s the kind of policy wonk talk that makes the economics students’ ears perk up, but for most Islanders, it likely boils down to one thing: lower bills.Anne Christopher, one of Lantz’s supporters, put it plainly. “He knows how to fix this Maritime Electric mess,” she said. “I think he’ll keep working with the MLAs. Folks forget how much better things are when the whole team pulls together.” Across the room, Ledwell backers like Mitchel Smelgrove were still dissecting what might’ve been. Smelgrove argued Ledwell’s experience connecting federal and provincial issues is something “the Island will need soon enough, you watch.”Leadership contests can drag party fractures into the light, but Lantz spent a good part of his speech encouraging unity without sounding preachy. “Leadership races are oppositional, that’s just the nature,” he said, “but we don’t have to make them divisional.” Whether that sentiment holds come the first test in the legislature—well, that remains to be seen.For now, though, Lantz’s task is clear and immediate. Spend some time with family, catch the Super Bowl, and then back to work Monday morning. After all, the business of governing—especially on an island as intimate and interconnected as P.E.I.—never really stops, just pauses for the odd celebration.Big changes rarely arrive overnight in Prince Edward Island politics. But if the last few days are any indication, there may at least be a new pace. For the moment, that seems to be enough.